Mary – Page 4 – Mary Simses

Interview with a Writer’s Assistant

We recently sat down for a candid interview with Cinnamon, a Tonkinese cat who is the assistant to author Mary Simses.

Why don’t you tell us about your job?
I’m underpaid, unglorified, and underappreciated. What else do you want to know?

You sound a little irritated.
Of course I’m irritated. A simple, Thank you, Cinnamon, I couldn’t have done it without you, in one of her books would be nice. But so far, nothing. And, by the way, I’m working under horrible conditions. Sometimes my food dish is only half full. It’s clear I’m going to starve to death.

You look perfectly healthy to me. But let’s get back to the job. Can you give us some examples of what you do for Mary?
It’s a long list. How much time do you have?

Maybe you could pare it down to the essentials.
Well, the first thing I do is wake her up so she can feed me. And so she can do her work, of course.

August 6, 2018

Surrounded by Books

There’s nothing that makes me feel more like a kid in a candy store than being in a bookstore or in any store that sells books. I love having a stockpile of books on my night table, and even when I’m knee-deep in writing my own book, as I am now, I need to have a book to read. And yes, I did buy a couple of books the day this picture was taken.

July 2, 2018

Hemingway at his Best/Worst

Full disclosure: I’m not that big of a fan of Ernest Hemingway’s writing, but I find him a fascinating person. Everyone Behaves Badly is an intriguing and well written book about Hemingway in Paris in the 1920’s, and the lead-up to the writing and publication of The Sun Also Rises, his first novel. It’s a look into how ambitious Hemingway was in his desire to become a successful published author and how his style – spare, lean, direct, and the opposite of what was being published at the time – took the literary world by storm.

I’ve read other books about Hemingway, including The Paris Wife, which I also enjoyed, so I had an idea of what the Paris years were like. Everyone Behaves Badly filled in more of the details, especially about the friends and mentors (and other men’s wives, of course) Hemingway used in order to become successful. In addition to betraying his first wife (Hadley), by having a relationship with the woman who would become his second wife (Pauline), Hemingway betrayed his closest friends. He used their personalities and backgrounds

April 14, 2018

Rebecca: Still Mesmerizing

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” So begins Daphne duMaurier’s classic novel of romantic suspense, Rebecca. I’ve read the book three times now – once as a teenager, once about twenty years ago, and again just recently. My daughter, who is nineteen, was sick and asked me to come into her room while she tried to go to sleep. I asked if she wanted me to read to her and she said yes. It’s a thrill to be able to read to a grown girl. She doesn’t ask for that often. I found Rebecca on her bookshelf. I knew she hadn’t read it, so I opened the book and began. She fell asleep within five pages, but I took the book back into my bedroom and continued reading by flashlight, so I wouldn’t wake my husband.

Rebecca takes place in England, where duMaurier was from. Her command of language is exquisite, and her descriptions of Manderley, the country mansion on the Cornish coast where the

February 25, 2018

At the Miami Book Fair 2017

I had a great time at the 2017 Miami Book Fair, talking about my latest novel, The Rules of Love & Grammar, and sharing a panel with Elin Hilderbrand (left), whose latest novel is The Identicals, and Alisyn Camerota (middle), co-anchor of CNN’s New Day and author of the debut novel, Amanda Wakes Up. The panel, called “Finding Yourself,” was aptly named, as the main characters in all of the novels are trying to find their place in the world. I felt it especially relevant to me, as it took many years for me to find my way to the career I really love, which is being an author.

November 21, 2017

Revisiting Brideshead Revisited

Back in 1981, I watched the British TV series that was created from this novel and broadcast on PBS. It was the vehicle that made Jeremy Irons a household name. I since found out that it took two years to make that 11-episode series, and if you watch it you’ll understand why. It’s so beautifully done. Every bit of it. Anyway, that’s how I fell in love with Brideshead Revisited the first time. After watching the series, I thought I’d better read the novel, and I did. I thought it was wonderful.

Fast forward a few decades. I’d thought about the story many times over the years, as it’s one that’s not easily forgotten. A month ago, I bought the DVDs on the Internet and binge-watched them over a weekend. After that – you know where this story is going – I bought the novel again, because I have no idea where my original copy went. And I enjoyed it even more than I did when I first read it, presumably because I’m older now and have a deeper appreciation for

September 25, 2017

How I Became A Writer

I grew up in Darien, a suburban town on the Connecticut coast. When I was young I was always writing short stories and poems, and my teachers encouraged me to write – especially my ninth grade English teacher, who was one of two people to whom I dedicated my second novel. By the time I started college, I decided I’d better take up a practical career, as I didn’t think I could ever make a living writing fiction or poetry. I decided to major in journalism because at least that way I’d still be writing, although doing a very different kind of writing. I spent a couple of years after college working for a small trade magazine in Connecticut (fortunately, an interesting one that covered the field of magazine publishing), and then ended up going back to school to get a law degree. I worked for a law firm and then spent fifteen years working in the legal department of a large corporation in

July 18, 2017

10 Dos and Don’ts for the Aspiring Novelist

TIP NO. 1
I thought I’d share a few thoughts about writing, from my own experience. So many people tell me they have a story they want to write. It can be done – I promise you. I started by writing short stories. For me, it was a less intimidating way to get back into fiction writing after a long hiatus than to try to attack a novel. Working on a short story trains you to come up with a beginning, middle, and end, develop characters, create dialog, and do it all within twenty or thirty pages. The chapters in a typical novel are like short stories, held together under the umbrella of a larger tale. So starting small is a great foundation for eventually writing that novel.

TIP NO. 2
Join a class of writing group. It worked for me! I took a fiction writing class at night

July 6, 2017

Postcards from Connecticut

I’m in my home state of Connecticut doing some book events and enjoying the scenery. I passed this bike leaning on an Adirondack chair in Rowayton and had to stop and take a few photos. This picture really says “summer” to me.

I liked the reflection of the flag in the window of this shop in Kent. There are some beautiful towns in Litchfield County, with lots of great scenes to photograph.

I took this on the way to Kent, just a few miles from town. It’s such a peaceful scene.

Another photo from Kent, taken in town.

June 20, 2017

Back In Connecticut

I’m happy to be back in Connecticut, where there are so many great things to photograph, like this beautiful red barn I often pass, and these funny chickens that belong to friends of mine. They raise them for their eggs.

June 15, 2017